At an official handover ceremony with the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany on Friday, P&O Cruises marked a positive signal for the future by taking ownership of Iona, the latest addition to our fleet.
P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow, who was present at the event in Papenburg and signed the Protocol for Delivery and Acceptance said:
“Iona’s delivery is a very positive signal for the future of cruising. She is now officially part of the P&O Cruises fleet and we are focused on readying her to welcome Guests during her new maiden season to Northern Europe, Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands from our home port of Southampton.
“Already eagerly anticipated by our Guests, crew and the communities we visit, events this year have increased the sense of anticipation even more.
“Whilst our operations are currently paused until early 2021 Iona will not be sailing for the moment but we look forward to our Guests experiencing this game-changing ship as we will continue to offer unparalleled holidays at sea whilst also upholding the latest approved travel protocols.”
See some of the event yourself…
Thank you
Chris Gale, VP New build, said: “A huge thank you to everyone who’s been involved. From the beginning our approach has been to make the design and build of Iona as collaborative as possible. As such we have touched nearly all parts of the business and all parts have played their role in bringing Iona into being. Here are just some of the teams I’d like to call out for their hard work in getting us to this point:
- Newbuild
- POC Product and Brand
- POC GE
- Maritime
- ITD
- Carnival Corporate Shipbuilding
- People Services
- Procurement and Supply Chain
- Onboard Revenue
- Finance
- Legal
- People Team
- IONA’s officers and crew
- and the Exec themselves.
At 185,000 tonnes, 345m in length, with 17 guest decks and setting new ground for Guest experience, Iona is the largest, greenest, and most innovative ship yet to join our fleet. As we look to the future, Iona’s arrival is an exciting step closer to P&O Cruises return to sea for incredible travel experiences.
We look forward to Iona’s new maiden season in to Northern Europe, Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands.
2 Comments
Very exciting – well done everyone involved!
Welcome IONA!
Huge Congratulations to everyone involved – great to see so many familar faces onboard and looking forward to when we can all travel again together.